Bryce & Red Canyons – Day 48

We woke up this morning to sore legs and bodies due to all the hiking in the canyons. Soreness always makes getting started more difficult. As we were riding out of the parking lot we encountered a man who was quite helpful and detailed with his description of our route.

Today we made plans to ride 68 miles to Panguitch, Utah. Two gradual climbs stood between us and the town. It was 40 miles to Tropic, which was on the other side of the first climb and where we intended to eat lunch. The ride wasn’t bad. However we had a slight headwind and when you are pedaling uphill already, it is never fun to have something trying to push you back down.

After grabbing lunch today in Tropic, we set out on our second climb of the day. The heat had risen to extreme temperatures so riding up a mountain against rock exposed to the sun made for a very hot afternoon of riding. The great thing about making it to the top of this climb was that Bryce Canyon was at the top.

When we made it to the top, Amy was waiting on us with the car and we drove a few mile to the park gate. This is when we realized there was a $25 fee to drive through the park. Something we we not willing to pay for a quick glance.

As we were driving up we saw an overlook to part of Bryce Canyon, so we went back and drove out to it. It was a bit smaller than the more popular amphitheater but it was much more intimate.

We spent a little bit of time enjoying the view from the overlook before we heading back to where we left the route and began making our way down the mountain to Panguitch through the Red Canyon.

There is actually a bike path that runs parallel to the road through the Red Canyon so we had to make a decision on which to take. The road would give us better views however the bike path would be free of traffic and safer. So we chose the bike path. It was perfect and a lot of fun.

The only problem with it was that in a few small sections there had been washouts and rocks covered the path. Not what you want to see as you come around a corner at 35 mph on a road bike.

Once we the bike path ended we joined back with the road and coasted into Panguitch. It is a pretty cool town. There are a lot of varying characteristics ranging from older style buildings to much more modern homes. We set up camp at the local KOA Kampground, which is mine and Amy’s first experience at the well-known KOA.

Tomorrow the plan is to ride 60 mile into Cedar City and then take a rest day on Monday. Today we reached our greatest amount of visitors thus far since the site launched back in March. So thank you again to everyone who had been following!